Yeah, I'm not giving a single extra dollar to the Red Cross until they are able to completely prevent all disasters from happening or single-handedly and immediately fix every problem caused by acts of god.

Or, you know, I'll live in reality and be glad we have amazing organizations who are out there doing good work.

"You know, I went to a shelter Monday night after the storm. People were coming in with no socks, with no shoes. They were in desperate need. Their housing was destroyed. They were crying. Where was the Red Cross?"

Translation:

HOW DARE THEY WAIT UNTIL AFTER THE STORM PASSES TO BEGIN TO ASSESS THE DAMAGE?!?!

I don't think they understand how the Red Cross works. They Red Cross are not first responders. During Katrina it took them two weeks before they got to New Orleans. What they DID do though was hang out on the edge like in Baton Rouge, Lafayette, as far away as Houston and built places where people could lay their heads for a week or so while things got to a somewhat normal state.

Volunteers should not be in a disaster area until things are stabilized. To think of Joe Jones, average RC volunteer, trouncing through flood waters with broken gas lines is ludicrous. These people are just looking for someone to blame for their OWN failings in preparation for what people said was going to happen sooner or later. Are you ready now fark face?

PainInTheASP:"You know, I went to a shelter Monday night after the storm. People were coming in with no socks, with no shoes. They were in desperate need. Their housing was destroyed. They were crying. Where was the Red Cross?"

Translation:

HOW DARE THEY WAIT UNTIL AFTER THE STORM PASSES TO BEGIN TO ASSESS THE DAMAGE?!?!

"Assess", lol

/yeah, I know it's the wrong spelling, but that was my first thought when I read his reply

xynix:I don't think they understand how the Red Cross works. They Red Cross are not first responders. During Katrina it took them two weeks before they got to New Orleans. What they DID do though was hang out on the edge like in Baton Rouge, Lafayette, as far away as Houston and built places where people could lay their heads for a week or so while things got to a somewhat normal state.

Volunteers should not be in a disaster area until things are stabilized. To think of Joe Jones, average RC volunteer, trouncing through flood waters with broken gas lines is ludicrous. These people are just looking for someone to blame for their OWN failings in preparation for what people said was going to happen sooner or later. Are you ready now fark face?

Yep. The first responders are the National Guard.

When Issac hit down here, they were passing out supplies immediately. Red Cross didn't come for days. But that's how its supposed to work.

Guy who works for me is deeply involved in Red Cross as a volunteer. He's always working with them, setting up shelters and assessing damage after hurricanes and tornadoes. They actually requested he go to New York for two weeks to assist but he had to decline because we've got some big projects going on at work, and while we're more than happy to give him some leeway when it comes to helping them out, two weeks right now is pretty tough.

Talking with him, some Red Cross organizations are run very well, others not so much. It could be that the people who work in locations that are getting hit with disasters on a more frequent basis know how to handle it better than people who don't. No matter how much you practice and drill and do table top exercises. Nothing is quite as tough as the real thing.

""You know, I went to a shelter Monday night after the storm. People were coming in with no socks, with no shoes. They were in desperate need. Their housing was destroyed. They were crying. Where was the Red Cross?""

Why were you in a shelter? Why weren't you out there helping with the rebuilding?

Where was the Red Cross? Isn't that their function? They collect millions of dollars. Whenever there's a drive in Staten Island, we give openly and honestly. Where are they? Where are they?

Wait a minute. This guy works for an organization that purports to protect you and is funded through force. If the Red Cross came out to complain about government response to a disaster and told everyone to stop giving them money, how would that go over?

I'm honestly really sorry about the damage, and while I can't imagine what it's like to lose one's house, it must be awful. If that's you, I'm sorry.

However, these folks in New York and New Jersey sure seem whiny as hell about it. On the radio, on the TV, and every time a reporter shows up, all they do is whine about how awful it is and how nobody's helping them and what are they going to do? I don't recall all those poor folks in New Orleans being such crybabies after Katrina. Seriously, i thought New Yorkers were tough? Enough with the whining and expecting miracles from volunteers. Nobody owes you anything, by the way.

I remember hearing stories similar to this from my parents/grandparents.Now, the Salvation Army on the other hand, actually gets their hands dirty, and genuinely help.Though I'm pretty much agnostic, I do (financially) support the Salvation Army for helping those that most of us would just like to try to pretend don't exist (homeless, drug addicts, abused women, etc.)

A good friend of my family lost her house due to massive wildfires in my area about 2 years ago. The local red cross office received over half a million dollars locally in fundraisers for those families affected. She ended up getting about $350 in relief from them, and she received more than most, seeing as how she had lost everything. When the red cross gets donations, those donations go to pay their administration first and go to relief a very distant second.

downstairs:xynix: I don't think they understand how the Red Cross works. They Red Cross are not first responders. During Katrina it took them two weeks before they got to New Orleans. What they DID do though was hang out on the edge like in Baton Rouge, Lafayette, as far away as Houston and built places where people could lay their heads for a week or so while things got to a somewhat normal state.

Volunteers should not be in a disaster area until things are stabilized. To think of Joe Jones, average RC volunteer, trouncing through flood waters with broken gas lines is ludicrous. These people are just looking for someone to blame for their OWN failings in preparation for what people said was going to happen sooner or later. Are you ready now fark face?

Yep. The first responders are the National Guard.

When Issac hit down here, they were passing out supplies immediately. Red Cross didn't come for days. But that's how its supposed to work.

thank youthank you so very much for pointing out what, pretty much everyone with a working brain should be able to figure out.

and his suggestion is to fark THE RED CROSS. Really? REALLY? You honestly think that that is the best use of your time and microphone??

FINEI am never donating to the red cross again. Or any charity.Where were they when I got that flat??

We stopped with the Red Cross after Katrina. We mailed in a donation which, for us, was sizable and there was a box we could check that said "get an accounting of how your money was spent." There was also a box indicating why and where we wanted to donate, so we callously said Katrina (and not Chiapas or Nigeria, as we give in other ways to other parts of the world). We wanted to help out New Orleans.

We got our statement from the Red Cross six months later. Due to overwhelming donations, they didn't use our money in New Orleans, it went to Spain and somewhere else. Was pissed. In the meantime, people here in SoCal were still paying out of pocket for plane tickets for homeless people to come to L.A., and we were helping round up jobs for said displaced people. Huh? Why wouldn't the Red cross find a way to use my dollars to help New Orleans? Gotta be more creative.

Since then, I watch what they do locally (yes, they run a blood bank - but the number of ginormous blood bank trucks they've purchased just in my county is outrageous and they only use them two days a week, each). They spend virtually no money advertising when and where said trucks are going to be and then wonder about donations dropping off.

Bah. Humbug. Some of you young Farkers, get out there and start a new charity. Thanks a bunch.

(My dad says they were great in WW2 and brought cigarettes and chocolates to his armored division).

JerkStore:I'm honestly really sorry about the damage, and while I can't imagine what it's like to lose one's house, it must be awful. If that's you, I'm sorry.

However, these folks in New York and New Jersey sure seem whiny as hell about it. On the radio, on the TV, and every time a reporter shows up, all they do is whine about how awful it is and how nobody's helping them and what are they going to do? I don't recall all those poor folks in New Orleans being such crybabies after Katrina. Seriously, i thought New Yorkers were tough? Enough with the whining and expecting miracles from volunteers. Nobody owes you anything, by the way.

Nobody complained how FEMA handled Katrina. Nobody at all...

But yeah, even before Sandy hit, NJ people were asking Bon Jovi and Bruce for a charity concert. WTF.

""It is as t'e borough president, Jim Molinaro, said, it's disgusting, it really is,' State Senator Andy Lanza said, criticizing the city for giving the go-ahead to the New York City Marathon this weekend and the focus on pumping the water out of the East River tunnels. 'We're talking about getting water of the tunnel. Let's get the water out of the tunnel tomorrow, let's get the people out of the water today. "

Yeah, because opening thoroughfares that trucks loaded with supplies can traverse IS COMPLETELY UNRELATED TO HELPING PEOPLE.

kmg8181:A good friend of my family lost her house due to massive wildfires in my area about 2 years ago. The local red cross office received over half a million dollars locally in fundraisers for those families affected. She ended up getting about $350 in relief from them, and she received more than most, seeing as how she had lost everything. When the red cross gets donations, those donations go to pay their administration first and go to relief a very distant second.

so dont donate to any large charities? anyone working for a charity should do for free?I dont understand your point. How many families/houses were destroyed?please give us the math.thanks